KING WORLD DEAL JUST A TWINKLE IN TED’S EYE

Ted Turner’s talks with syndication powerhouse King World are, for the time being, nothing more than that.

The Mouth from the South has not yet approached the Turner Broadcasting Systems board of directors about merging with or acquiring King World.

“It has not come to us,” says Tele-Communications Inc. CEO John Malone at last week’s NCTA convention. Malone is on Turner’s board, and his company has a 12% stake in TBS. TCI and Time Warner, which also owns a stake in Turner, must approve any deal before Ted can proceed.

Asked if he thought King World made sense for Turner, Malone said he “does not know enough about King World to know if a deal makes sense to the company.”

Turner, also at the NCTA convention, said he “couldn’t talk about it” when asked about a possible King World deal. He did say that the King brothers, Roger and Michael, are “great guys”.